Generally, computer file formats for digital audio (hereinafter referred to as a "Dynamic Audio File"), such as the AUI, WAV, etc. audio file formats, and digital video (hereinafter referred to as a "Dynamic Video File"), such as the MPEG video file format, are formatted in a dynamic manner permitting easy and routine editing, serving a very useful purpose in the music and movie industries. Unfortunately, the dynamic nature of these file formats results in the generation of very large computer file sizes (i.e. hundreds of millions of bytes in size for a 40 minute digital audio file of 44.1 kHz sound quality and multi Gigabytes of data for full length motion picture quality recordings in digital video form).
As example, each second of a CD quality Dynamic Audio File is divided into 44,100 discrete time intervals. Each of these time intervals can simultaneously contain multiple frequencies (i.e. pitch) of sound at multiple amplitudes (i.e. volume). The Dynamic Audio File instructs an audio playing device (hereinafter referred to as a "Dynamic Audio Player") to play discrete frequencies/amplitudes at a rate of 44,100 times per second for CD quality sound. In a Dynamic Audio File, even if a string of consecutive time intervals contains identical frequencies and their related amplitudes, such an occurrence is irrelevant since the Digital Audio File format was designed, in part, to enable specific editing and/or dynamic manipulation of each individual time interval. The Dynamic Audio File fails to take advantage of redundancies within a string of consecutive time intervals which happen to repeat one or more identical frequencies and their related amplitudes.
Additionally, motion picture quality Digital Video Files are generally composed of about 30 video frames (images) per second. Each of these video frames are composed of a two dimensional, usually rectangular or square, grid of pixels. Each such pixel is capable of being colorized by complex, and/or basic, colors. Usually, a complex color is generated by mixing distinct shades of the basic colors red, green, and blue. The greater the number of distinct shades of these three basic colors, the greater the color definition of the video recording. It is common practice to use 256 distinct shades of the basic colors red, green, and blue in combination to create a palette of 16,777,216 unique complex colors, which is more than enough complex colors to display a motion picture quality recording. As example, each pixel contains a numeric entry ranging from 000 to 255 to define a distinct shade of the basic color red, a numeric entry ranging from 000 to 255 to define a distinct shade of the basic color green, and a numeric entry ranging from 000 to 255 to define a distinct shade of the basic color blue, all three of these shades of the basic colors red, green, and blue combine to identify a specific complex color from the palette of 16,777,216 possible complex colors (i.e. 256.times.256.times.256=16,777,216). Furthermore, the complex color white is defined, as is customary, as the mixture of the basic colors red.sub.255, green.sub.255, and blue.sub.255 , where the subscript defines the distinct shade; and the complex color black is defined, as is customary, as the mixture of the basic colors red.sub.000, green.sub.000, and blue.sub.000. Using this manner to mathematically describe complex colors, red.sub.116, green.sub.000, and blue.sub.095 mix to generate a discrete shade of purple. This manner to mathematically describe complex colors will be used throughout the teachings of the present invention.
The Dynamic Video File instructs a video playing device (hereinafter referred to as the "Dynamic Video Player") to display specific complex colors within each discrete pixel of each discrete video frame video frame of the video recording. In a Dynamic Video File, even if a string of consecutive video frames contains a pixel having the identical complex color, such a coincidence is irrelevant since the Digital Video File format was designed, in part, to enable very specific and independent editing or dynamic manipulation of each individual discrete pixel within each discrete video frame. The Dynamic Video File format fails to take advantage of similarities or redundancies within a string of consecutive video frames in which the color within discrete pixels remains constant over time.
Furthermore, use of the Dynamic Audio File and Dynamic Video File formats pose several problems when used to electronically distribute digital audio and digital video signals to the consumer markets (i.e. U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,573). The Dynamic Audio File and the Dynamic Video File formats, being very large as measured in bytes of data, require considerable time to transmit via telecommunications. Additionally, and as example, if the user desires to save Dynamic Audio Files in the home, a massive storage device would be required (i.e. 10 music albums of about 45 minutes in duration each, in AUI format, would require in excess of 7 Giga bytes of storage capacity).